วันเสาร์ที่ 15 ตุลาคม พ.ศ. 2554

Lahu Weaving


     The cicadas made noisy sound both day and night to tell that summer was coming. It was time for relaxation of Lahu because they were free from the field. Also Ja Lae children who were on their summer vacation were running and catching the cicadas with glee. They took the cicadas for cooking the delicious menu. But, there was one 11-year-old girl holding the stick for catching cicadas in one hand and Lahu’s wristlet in another hand. She told me that she braided the wristlets in her leisure time to sell to the tourists who came to visit her village.
Sukanya Kulao or Na Kui was Lahu girl who used to participate Lahu weaving contest which hill tribe project held together with Ja Lae villagers. She was awarded of the youth whose age were under 15 in the third rank. She made the wristlets during her free time and collected it.
Before noon, after I finished collecting the information about museum already and Na Kui got enough cicadas for her lunch, we were ready to talk together . For Na Kui, she prepared colorful thread and embedded six bars of stick on the ground. Then, she began to weave her wristlets by tying the thread and stick skillfully. Additionally, she said money that she got from selling the wristlets would be the capital for buying the wristlet-materials.
“Can you weave other kind besides the wristlets?”
   
“ Yes. I can weave wristlet, head-binder, belt, knapsack and shoulder-strap because it uses the same pattern. If it is the knapsack or belt, it should be widen the length of the cloth.”
Na Kui added, she could not weave difficult design such as star, zigzag, or hexagon because it needed experience and skill, so she had to learn more. She told that she would study to weave the hard pattern from the skillful weavers in the village.
“Can you stitch?”
I asked while I am getting a glimpse of a knapsack which hanging on the wall. It was colorful knapsack in triangle and square both big and small size which showed Lahu’s identity.
“ Yes, I can but  it is not quite well. It needs lots of improvements.”
She replied while weaving.
She took a short time to weave 8 wristlets, then she gave me one.
“ Do you want job’s tear to decorating ?”  I can do both ordinarily design and job’s tear decoration.
She braided small job’s tear with the wristlets in various style such as star, flower and serrated design from her imagination before tying me a wristlets.
Before she continued catching cicadas because her friends walked pass her house many times. I took a picture of her beautiful wristlets.
Na Kui made a profit from her spare time in summer. Not only to recall about how to weave but she also made money from those wristlets. One thing she did not think that she was one person who descended the precious Lahu traditional weaving from now on. 

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